At the Sign of the Broken Compass
by damsel-in-stress
Summary: A series of drabbles featuring all characters, situations and events, and all inspired by prompts from the Broken Compass Forum. Please R&R.
1. Misunderstanding

**Master of Disguise**

_A/N: 100 word drabble inspired by the prompt 'Misunderstanding' from the Broken Compass forum (now relocated to the Black Pearl forum). Pop over there if you would like to take part in one of the weekly challenges. All are welcome. :)_

* * *

"There has to be some kind of mistake!"

"No mistake," the young lieutenant replied with a self-satisfied smile on his face. "We are arresting you for piracy, Mr Sparrow."

"But I'm not Jack Sparrow, I'm in disguise-" the man replied desperately.

"We know you are in disguise, Mr Sparrow, that would be why we didn't recognise you to start with."

"I'm not Jack Sparrow," the man repeated. "I am a Officer of the Royal Navy on a secret mission-"

The cell door slammed shut.

A little way off, from under his stolen Royal Navy hat, the real Jack Sparrow grinned.


	2. Booty

Safe Hands

_A/N: Prompt 'booty'._

The tiny cabin was packed to bursting with crates, bags, boxes and chests, each carefully filled with treasures. Silver coins spilled over the sides of cases, gold blocks pilled up in the corners and jewelled candlesticks, statues, sceptres and plates filled every available surface.

So who owned such an ostentatious booty?

Was it some ruthless and greedy pirate? Or maybe a bloodthirsty and grasping buccaneer?

No, it was the much-respected Lord Cutler Beckett of the highly regarded East India Trading Company.

The treasure would probably have been safer in the hands of the pirates. Who knows what kind of uses Beckett would find for his acquired wealth?


	3. Wait

**Keep on Walking**

_A/N: It's not quite a drabble. I got a bit carried away.._

* * *

"This is a beautiful sword. I would expect the man who made it show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life."

There is nothing else to say.

A sad smile touched Commodore James Norrington's calm face as he turned to leave, excepting defeat with remarkably good grace.

Elizabeth stood in Will's arms surprised at the sudden pain in her heart as her commodore let her go.

"_Wait," I call, slip out of Will's hold and reach after James. _

_He pauses, turning around hesitantly. His face shows confusion and a hope he hardly dares to entertain._

"_Yes." His voice is cracking._

_On impulse I pull away from Will, he doesn't want to let me go but I shrug him off, stumbling over to the other man's side. _

_He takes me by the hands._

"_What-" he begins to ask but he can't continue. _

_I don't know what I want; I just slide into his arms trying to think of how to express what I need to say._

_To my surprise he holds me close, brushing his fingers gently across my cheek, looking at my face closely, savouring it, as if he knew he was going to lose the sight of me forever._

_I know Will is behind me and my father is ahead, both watching us, but I don't care right now. _

"_I'm sorry," I whisper. "I wish-"_

_He motions me to be silent. I am so close to him I can feel his breath on my face. _

"_Maybe-" I begin._

_But then there is no maybe. He leans forward and kisses me, gently and hesitantly at first then with sudden passion. _

_Despite myself I respond to it. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him down to me, my fingers snaking into his hair. _

Then her daydream evaporates.

She hadn't called out and he hadn't turned round, instead he had kept on walking while she stayed behind, trapped in Will's hold.

As he disappeared around the corner she turned away and tried to convince herself she had no regrets.

"_I love you," he breathes into my hair as we cut off the kiss. _

"I know," she whispered.

There is nothing else to say.


	4. Justice

**Merciless Eyes**

_A/N: Prompt 'Justice'._

* * *

The sailor slumped on the grimy deck, soaking wet, weak and shaking.

Before him stood the devil himself, Davy Jones, his arm a gnarled crabs claw, his face obscured by writhing tentacles.

He leant down to the sailor his breath reeked of death and decay and his eyes held no mercy.

"To the depths," he ordered, eyeing the sailor silently and menacingly.

The sailor looked up, his eyes hopeless but defiant. "Is there no justice?"

"Justice?" Jones said with twisted amusement. "This is justice."

He turned away unconcerned.


	5. Virtues and Vices

**A Girl in Every Port**

_A/N: A little more than 100 words. Prompt 'Virtues and Vices'. I couldn't resist, mate.._

* * *

He blew into port on a salty sea breeze. No one asked where he'd been; no one asked where he was going.

I met him at the docks, my heart would have it no other way, and when he saw me he kissed me passionately. Suddenly the stories didn't matter, the crimes, the dinners, the dancing, the drinking, and the women.

I'd promised myself the only bed he would be sharing from now on would be the bed of the prostitutes he was reported to be so fond of but when I saw him my resolutions collapsed.

I inevitably found myself with him that night and as I traced the familiar lines of his body, stared into his chocolate eyes and drowned in his compelling lips I couldn't help feeling that in that moment his evident virtues far outweighed his imagined vices.

If only Captain Jack Sparrow wasn't so damn charming.


	6. Graveyards

**Dead and Buried**

_A/N: In response to the prompt 'graveyards'. I promised myself I wouldn't write an angsty fic for this but it appears I couldn't stop meself.. ;)_

* * *

She had died a long time ago and been buried for nearly as long.

Buried but not forgotten.

The circumstances of her death were as clear to him now as all those years ago. The memory vivid. The pain fresh.

He stood over her grave, then knelt to place a couple of flowers onto the earth.

There were no tears, and neither were there any words. Just the flowers and a promise, a solemn vow to avenge his young bride against pirates who had so brutally snatched her from him.

Susan Norrington, née Hastings, aged twenty-one years.

Buried but not forgotten.


	7. Chaos

**Rules of Order **

_Prompt: Chaos. It immediately made me think of Tortuga. I wonder why.. :) Enjoy.._

* * *

Chaos, like most things in life, depends almost entirely on how you look at it.

For instead the bustling, bursting, bumbling crowds and the filthy, fight-fuelled, fun-filled streets of Tortuga at first seems like a pointless mess but in reality things are quite different.

Tortugain life revolves around a rigid set of unwritten but unbreakable rules applying to pirates, privateers, soldiers and sailors alike which keep the shameless little island ticking over.

Without these unquestionable regulations Tortuga would have descended into chaos years ago and that is why, to a man, the occupants obey these conditions to the letter.

Well, almost all of them.

Almost all of the time.

They are more like guidelines anyway.


	8. A Challenge

The Tale of the Malevolent Aunt

_A/N: In vague answer to Tina's question 'Who was the woman who looked after Norrington when he was a child?' This is the first thing I thought of with the challenge.._

_Almost a_ _drabble. Enjoy. :)_

* * *

Young James Norrington wasn't an avid reader of fairy tales. He preferred more advanced reading, some far too serious for a boy of his age.

Of course it is impossible to grow up without at least a rudimentary knowledge of fairy tales so he knew a little of what to expect when he was forced to go and live with his aunt after the untimely death of his parents.

Fairy tales are very clear on the subject of aunts. Grasping, cruel and heartless individuals with big echoing houses full of dust, mice and secrets best left unrevealed.

James knew his aunt would be a hard taskmistress, probably steal his inheritance at the slightest chance and one day sell him to some rich and obnoxious suitor.

Of course for every rule there is always exceptions.

It soon became evident even to James that Ivy Norrington was thankfully not one of those types of aunts.


	9. Wild and Untamed

**Like a Bird**

_A/N: This one is a drabble! The prompt was 'wild and untamed'. :)_

* * *

She was so like her mother, Governor Swann reflected watching his young daughter dance across the deck of the ship, a free spirit with a kind heart and a penchant for adventure.

The Governor felt a pang of guilt at the thought of caging her in a clandestine life like his, imprisoning her in the stifling bonds of society, which was how she'd view the inevitable fate of a governor's daughter.

He knew that eventually she would rebel. She was untameable and one day she would fly free. When the time came he wouldn't and shouldn't try to stop her.


	10. Reign

In Control

_A/N: Prompt: 'reign'. I'm doing a little spring cleaning of my account so I'm adding these next few drabbles into the collect that I did for challenges a while ago, they were just collecting dust anyway. :)_

* * *

I stood by the window, staring out on Port Royal, where the citizens were going about their business oblivious to my scrutiny.

Something was different. The people looked the same and the scenery hadn't changed. I realised it was me that had changed, my outlook rather than the actual view.

"Surveying your subjects, Governor?" a voice asked.

Beckett came to stand beside me; I tried to keep the distaste out of my face.

"Something like that," I muttered.

Beckett smiled, he knew as well as I did that they were only my people in name.

Beckett was in control now.


	11. Mistletoe

**Christmas is coming**

_A/N: Another drabble, this time inspired by the word 'Mistletoe' from the challenge over at the 'Broken Compass' forum. _

_Happy Christmas, mates!_

* * *

Christmas is coming.

And with it the chance to consume more food and drink than is entirely good for you, to wish people you don't know, or wish to know, a very good year, and to attend the parties of complete strangers in order to get the free gifts and steal all their Christmas decorations.

Good God, Jack Sparrow loved Christmas.

And the best part was mistletoe.

With a glass of wine in one hand and a sprig of mistletoe in the other he would stalk through the taverns of Tortuga taking it upon himself to spread the Christmas love.


	12. Naughty and Nice

Persuaded

_A/N: Inspired by FreedomOftheSeas prompt 'Naughty and Nice'._

* * *

James Norrington did not enjoy parties. He was not a social animal. He attended social gatherings because it was expected of him not because he wanted to.

Elizabeth Swann on the other hand could not get enough of them.

It was an interesting day then when the two contradicting opinions clashed at the Governors annual Christmas party.

It didn't take long though for Elizabeth to persuade James round to her way of thinking. It's a good thing her father wasn't looking at the time.

Very soon James decided parties weren't so bad after all. He planned to attend many more.


	13. Plunder

Silver and Gold

_A/N: The response to another challenge, this time the word was 'Plunder.' Not quite 100 words. x_

* * *

The loot was staking up before them, piles upon piles of gold and silver and gems, each object viciously plundered from unsuspecting ports across the country and collected into one colossal cave, where it stayed, untouched.

It was what most pirates' dream of, a thief's paradise hidden from the rest of the world and stocked full of the most lavish objects ever to be pilfered, but to these pirates the loot was inconsequential, they were after something much more momentous than riches.

The real prize they searched for was still just out of their reach but these pirates were willing to do anything in their power to acquire it. Surely the long anticipated prize would soon be theirs. Surely they wouldn't have to wait much longer.


	14. Truth

Truth in Legend

_Response to the challenge word 'Truth' dedicated to FreedomOftheSeas for introducing this fun idea to the 'Compass'._

_My spring cleaning is complete. The next drabble response will be the current one. :D_

* * *

Have you heard the story, the one about the pirate who loved a princess? It's a sad tale, telling of the greed of destiny, how a man became heartless for love and how a legend was born.

I'm sure you've heard it, there are so many different versions, some say he dies, another that he is freed from his curse, and one tells that he is still out there somewhere touching the hearts of the living and the dead.

Today few believe the old stories but I can't help wondering if maybe, just maybe, there is some truth in them.


	15. Mask

**Hidden Depth**

_A/N: The prompt was masks. I had real trouble coming up with anything so I hope this is ok. Enjoy. :)_

* * *

It was a mask of calm and control, which gave him, on the surface, the power of impassive cruelty and complete authority. At first he had hidden behind it, using to lock up all his softer feelings, love, compassion, guilt and remorse, so he could do what needed to be done but gradually it became too good, too impenetrable and the real man sunk into inferiority behind his persona.

He began to like what he had become, to embrace the mask and welcome the freedom it gave. He found at times that he couldn't even remember what he had been like before or perhaps he just chose to forget, the brutal contrast of the two personalities too much for even Lord Beckett to bear comfortably.


	16. Alive

**Livin' La Vida Loca**

_A/N: Response to 'Alive'. Enjoy. :)_

* * *

There was an air about him, an infectious energy that couldn't be ignored, avoided or forgotten. He reeked of exotic shores, boundless oceans and distant lands waiting to be discovered. A constant throbbing pulse of action, adventure and freedom issued from him and people found themselves irresistibly drawn to the devilish smile, cryptic tongue and electric personality that was Captain Jack Sparrow.

Even now, locked up in a dim cell in Port Royal his light burned undimmed. He was all but hopeless and condemned to death but still it could be said that of all the men in the world none had ever looked more alive.


	17. Candles

**In The Darkness**

_A/N: This prompt was 'candle'. A little more than a drabble. Enjoy. :)_

* * *

Water lapped gently against the side of the small boat, its soft sound muffled by the thick and oppressive silence. The wooden planks of the craft creaked eerily under the bare feet of the occupants, two young girls, both dressed in simple white dresses and caps, with identical features and large sorrowful eyes.

In their small hands they each clutched a tiny flickering candle, which cast a small circle of light around the tiny boat, their humble flames bravely trying to combat the immense darkness. Thankfully they weren't alone in their plight. Around them other lights glittered in the darkness, held by a variety of people, unrelated in appearance but united in their sombre destination. They each sat in their own boats, silent and unmoving with their tired eyes fixed on a point somewhere in the blackness ahead. No one spoke, they didn't need to, everyone was aware that this was their final journey.

Once, breaking the monotony of the passage, a great ship sailed past but the two girls barely registered it, the living were naught but ghosts to them. So instead they drifted along in silence, pulled by an invisible but inevitable current, the combined lights of their candles, lamps and lanterns blazed the way from the land of the living towards the point that they all flowed unstoppably towards.


	18. Priorities

__

_A/N: The prompt was priorities. I have never really written this character before so I hope it sounds vaguely like who it's meant to be but as these drabbles are meant to be a way of making me write about things I normally wouldn't I thought I'd branch out. As usual, enjoy and please tell me what you think. _

* * *

**Living Forever**

Life is cheap. It can be bought for a handful of silver coin or traded away in a tavern. People die all the time and little could, should, or ever would be done about it.

I know this, having come to terms with the brutal truth of life a long time ago, subsequently making this cutthroat business my own and becoming a gentleman of fortune with a knack for survival and a reputation for dicing with death.

Against the odds, I survived and when I came out victorious, my enemies crushed beneath my heel, and my future secure it finally occurred to me, too late, that sometimes just living isn't the most important thing, sometimes there are things that are even more important.

"It's not about living forever, Jackie. It's about living with yourself forever."


	19. Clown

_A/N: Inspired by the prompt 'clown'. I immediately thought of Jack Sparrow. Go figure. :)_

_

* * *

_

**A Clown's Court**

He strutted around the table, sashaying his hips and gesticulating wildly with his hands. Dreadlocks danced around his laughing face as he made his way across the room; stopping occasionally but with his cryptic, silver tongue never still.

The entire Brethren Court were now convinced Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirate Lord of the Caribbean Sea, had finally completely flipped as he flounced around the room, talking apparent gibberish and making intricate patterns in the air with his finger tips.

As he talked his way around the table though, it slowly became clear to his audience that his seemingly banal chatter did have a point and several of them found themselves nodding. Conversation picked up and arguments broke out as Jack's words sunk in. His seed of an idea sown, he sat back and watched it grow, smiling to himself.

He may look like a clown but he knew how to play his audience and prided himself on his ability to, whenever he desired, make them dance to his mad, merry tune.


	20. Master

_A/N: The prompt was 'Master'. I thought I'd try something a little different._ :)

**His Master's Call**

Woken from his untouchable slumber in the deepest depth of the seas by the resounding sound of his Master's call he carefully uncurled, stretching each of his tremendous tentacles one by one. Shifting his massive bulk he shook off the remnants of sleep, watching as stone, sand and bone also fell from his great back.

Tentatively he ventured out of the comforting darkness where he dwelt into the sharp light of the open ocean. He was reluctant to go and perform his Master's wishes but he knew as the call echoed in the deepest recesses of his soul that he had no choice. He had nothing else left.

* * *


	21. Touch

_A/N: Beware - this is **M rated!** I mean it. Reviewers, please be gentle on me, this is my first attempt at anything above about a K+.. Enjoy. :)_

* * *

**Touch**

The space under the sheets was stifling, two bodies pressed close, slipping and sliding across each other's sweat covered skin. The bed rocked with each rhythmic thrust, and in the steam of their passion, it was impossible to determine where one lover ended and the other began.

But even in the midst of their ardour, he knew something wasn't right.

Cries of pleasure from the woman intensified, as in his sudden, sick desperation he drove at her harder, deeper. She let out short, gasping breaths, his name a whispered blessing on her lips, but all he felt was sinking dread as slowly, at the height of their rapture, he realised what was wrong.

She was there; he could see her, hear her, but the effects of the curse were finally becoming clear.

He could touch, but he could not feel.


	22. Hesitate

**Hesitate**

He could not believe it. He really could _not_ believe it. Trouble followed him around like it was a dog and he was a bone. He had been born with enough problems of his own, without a fanfare of issues attaching themselves to his coattails. Yet trouble, literally, seemed to fall from the sky when he was around.

The woman hit the water like a dead weight, sending drops erupting into the air. He stared at the spot, while beside him the two Marines let their mouths drop open in shock. Instinct told him to dive in after her, but he had a bad feeling about this. Women, in his experience, brought nothing but bother. Especially, he imagined, ones who fell into his life from great heights.

Still, who would want their life to be boring.

After a moment of hesitation, he shrugged his shoulders and dived headfirst into trouble.


End file.
